A special session of the Texas Legislature was convened this summer at the request of Governor Abbott to deal with topics including the formula for school funding in the state. Texas has a long history of trying different formulas only to have them struck down by the Texas Supreme Court.  This proposal added monies to the education budget but with strings attached including vouchers.  There was a strong backlash among constituents about vouchers for school choice, and the bill failed.

School finance will be on the back burner until the legislature reconvenes in 2019.  In the meantime, there were some provisions for charter school financing in the current finance plan. “The school budget lawmakers did agree on won’t change the state’s per-pupil spending level but will provide rural and charter schools more money and pay for traditional schools’ new construction costs.”

And so, we wait for 2 years to see how lawmakers will address issues such as teacher retirement funding, insurance for educators, vouchers, chapter schools,and more.